Soo Photography Blog

Hearts Full of Love

2009-07-03T02:00:00.000-07:00

Just a few weeks ago, I had the great pleasure of photographing Karen and Joe’s wedding. Weddings are a big part of what I do, and I enjoy every one of them for the happiness and sense of celebration that ties them all together in a chain of love. I also love them for what makes them unique.

This wedding was no exception.

Karen’s dad is no longer with us, so understandably there was a lot of emotion around his not being there. In Chinese culture, the tea ceremony demonstrates respect for the older generations. Here, in Saratoga’s tranquil and elegant Hakone Gardens, we are at the same venue where our lovely Demara and Reynold got married. The guests witnessed the bride and groom serving tea to their parents. When Karen’s turn came, everyone—me included—was completely choked up. Karen knelt and offered tea to her mom and also to her dad whose tea cup was carefully placed on the empty chair right next to her.

Yes, the chair was empty, but the hearts of everyone at that wedding were as full as the cups of tea. I won’t forget this scene anytime soon or the tradition that it honors, and I know that Karen and Joe won’t either.

- Michael Soo

On the road again...

2009-07-03T00:15:00.000-07:00

When I think about Chanel and Peter’s recent wedding, the first words that come to mind after “How great!” are “Wow, what a trip!” And I mean that in the best possible way. Here’s how it all came down…

This gorgeous couple’s ceremony was to be held at Trinity Episcopal Cathedral in San Jose. Chanel checked into the nearby Fairmont Hotel to dress and have her make-up done to perfection. She was lookin’ absolutely great, and everybody was in high spirits and full of anticipation. So far, so good.

The next step in the plan was to head south—an hour’s drive—to the Cinnabar Hills Golf Club to photograph the wedding party. The shoot went like a dream, the shots looked great, and with our mission accomplished, we all jumped into our cars and hit the road back to San Jose.

Chanel, who had been pretty cool, calm, and collected up until then was beginning to get just a touch flustered. Think about it. There was her makeup to keep fresh, her dress to keep unwrinkled, and a million other things to keep straight.

But everything went great. After a beautiful ceremony at the historic church, we went back to Cinnabar Hills for the reception.

All in all, a 10-hour day just packed with action. Chanel and Peter had booked a couple of hours less, but I believe in putting in whatever it takes to get the job done right. Getting a great result is what makes what we do so worthwhile. That and the smiles of pure joy on the faces of the bride and groom and their families.

- Michael Soo

Photographing Glasses and Bottles

2009-06-23T15:09:00.000-07:00

We've been asked by a few prospects to show them sample images that we took of reflective objects. We figure that we'll just post a shot we took for a fellow friend, owner of Vintagio winery, which he promptly used for his business card.

The biggest challenge for 99% of product photographers out there are photographing reflective products such as bottles, glasses and especially spheric items. It's really because with these surfaces, you'll see the reflection of anything and everything around the object, the sky, windows and even the photographer and his/her camera! The worst thing to do is to use the on-camera flash that creats a hotspot on the reflective objects.

The distractions are avoidable by surrounding the glass object with a surface that you want to see, such as white board or plastic. It'll help tremendously to create the perfect glass or bottle imagery you want.

- Michael Soo

Creative photos with creative filters

2009-06-18T00:23:00.000-07:00

I was recently bitten by the slow shutter bug. As you may have noticed from some of my work such as, the previous blog posting, Feb 2007 issue and the most recent June 2009 (page 58) issue of of Popular Photography magazine. All of them using ND filters, at times, stacked with a polarizer.

Recently, I discovered the Singh-Ray's Vari-N-Duo filter, which I am now packing with me in my bag of goodies.

The interesting part of this filter is that I've been sandwiching a polarizer and 1-2 3-stops ND filter in the past few years of my life, with the polarizer being a slim version. This filter single-handedly remove those 2-3 filters from my bag of filters. Although I wouldn't call it a slim filter, it's pretty easy to handle and adjust.

As you may already know, sandwiching a combo of filters has its pains. Whenever I need only the polarizer, I'll need to unsandwich the filters. Then, there's the handling of three filters instead of one. More surface area exposed to dust, dirt and smudges.

So, the Vari-N-Duo solves all that issue. On top of that, it allowed polarizing effects (really great for waterfalls, reduce glare and reflections in your shots) and slows down the shutter for up to 8-stops!

The drawbacks? It's a thick filter (size of 3 filters put together), can cause some vignetting and it can be an issue fitting into some bags. However, since I'm using the 1Ds3 to shoot, I have plenty of pixels to play with. Thus, I often shoot wider than normal to allow myself cropping opportunities. Having that in mind frees me from having to worry about the vignetting. I'm also using a bag that fits 6 filters. So, there are definitely enough room for me to fit this baby in.

- Michael Soo

Love conquers all

2009-05-23T21:21:00.000-07:00

It was late morning. Our absolutely adorable couple, Karen and Joe were waiting for the makeup artist, Tiffany to finish up Karen's look. We were headed out for their engagement session, a few spots that I photographed a mere few days ago. Legion of Honor, Palace of Fine Arts and Baker's Beach. Déjà vu. Karen loved the image I took above for Jen and Matt, and wished to recreate it for themselves. It's usually not an issue, weather permitting.

That was the beginning of the problem. Fog rolled in and covered every inch of the beach and especially the Golden Gate Bridge. The 20 minutes hike to the location began to look rather pointless. Neither the sunset nor the Golden Gate Bridge was visible. Even the path just 100 yards in front of us began to disappear.

I turned to Karen and said, "We'll not catch the beautiful sunset and the Golden Gate Bridge today. However, we'll capture amazing mood in our imagery that no other couples has!!!" Though skeptical, they did brighten up and continued the hike. When we reached the beach, I placed Karen and Joe peacefully on the exact same rock that Jen and Matt were standing a few days ago and I changed my angle completely. Their beautiful tranquil look were surrounded by angry waves that swirled and splashed around them like a perfect storm.

Same rock, different mood. I named the image, "Love conquers all"

- Michael Soo

Buccaneers' cheerleaders team photoshoot

2009-05-20T22:28:00.000-07:00

Roseanne, a Buccaneers' cheerleader takes us behind the scene of Soo Photography's photoshoot with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' cheerleader's team shoot.

(Video by Ed Bottger)

Keeping engagement sessions engaging!

2009-05-02T12:45:00.000-07:00

(Click to view larger images)

Engagement sessions are not just bringing_a_couple_out_anywhere_to_photograph. It's a big deal for us. We plan the locations (nature versus architecture), schedule (time and location for the sunset) and wardrobe matching with the couples. We'll ensure that our most amazing makeup artist and hair stylist are on board for the shoot. At times, we'll go as far as to invite our couples for a home cooked meal while we talk about the upcoming shoot while we psyche each other up for the fun filled day of shooting.

I'm a foodie. So, it's not one of those mac-n-cheese dinner, but white truffle cheese, salad with drizzled pomegranate reduction dressing, shrimp bisque, medium-rare grilled tenderloin steak, banana fosters spread over grilled peaches-a la hot/cold/sour/sweet combo. Mmmmph..mmmmmph. :P~ Did I ever mention that we also photograph food? So, imagine how beautiful your wedding cake will look.

(Click to view larger images)

I digressed... There are three important pieces to our engagement sessions that we always capture, which you'll notice through the images in this blog.

Love - It's about how he looks at her and holds her, how she plays with her hair when she talks to him, how she always laughs when he tells a joke. It is the most basic instinctive raw emotion. Yes, we capture the love and we know where to find it. ;)
Fun - The above images tells it all. We have a blast when we go out photographing our couples and by golly, you should too.
Art - We play tai chi with nature. We utilize natural sunlight in combination with flash photography to create the most beautiful and natural portraits, with a gorgeous backdrop in nature (see images below). By posing you a certain way in relation to the light, we help you shred 20 lbs without breaking a sweat.

(Click to view larger images)

Engagement photography collection for us is to reach through the camera lens, pulling in the couple’s shared happiness, and recording that for them to remember.

Of course, the greatest fun with the engagement shoots is my collaboration with the couples themselves. They give me new ideas all the time. These collections of pictures reflect the freshness of relationships before the weddings, before the kids, before the mortgages. They are keepsakes as meaningful as wedding albums.

- Michael Soo

Wedding at Santana Row (part 2)

2009-04-25T02:19:00.000-07:00

As mentioned in posts below about our Unique Selling Points, we are really proud to say that we deliver. Yes, we deliver! Every single wedding couple we photograph can expect to receive their highly customized album designs within TWO weeks. No kidding! So, you fly off to your honeymoon and by the time you return, you'll be invited to see your wonderous album.

Take our wonderful wedding shot on March 28, 2009, Roya and Todd was invited on April 7th to view their album!

Check out their album!

- Michael Soo

Duy's Funeral - Spangler Mortuary, Los Altos

2009-04-13T22:10:00.000-07:00

My father passed away five months ago. Guilt flowed through me as the funeral was in Malaysia and I couldn't fly back in time to attend it. My brothers took the time to photograph the funeral and sent me the images. When I first saw those photographs, a flow of overwhelming emotions passed me and I was drenched in tears.

I have never photographed a funeral before. The thought of photographing one was never something that made me feel splendidly excited about, for obvious reasons. Last week, my ophthalmologist that I shot a year or so ago, Dr. Barry Fung of Los Altos wanted my help to retouch, repair and extract an image of his father-in-law from their archive for the funeral.

Soon after, my assignment was to photograph the funeral itself, held at Spangler Mortuary in Los Altos. The slideshow I created for Dr Fung made everyone cried and yes, my mindset towards photographing funeral did change after the event and especially so after reading what Dr Barry wrote below. I guess Capture the Love seem to capture an deeper word of love in it. Not very different than how one love one's spouse but a much more profound love, existing within us, towards our fathers, daughters, friends, neighbors and even our pets.

View the slideshow!

Hi Michael:

I was just thinking about what you said about doing wedding shoots. Obviously, it's more fun to do weddings than to do funerals. However, I would argue that the pictures from a funeral may have a far more important function than those from a wedding. If one's life is like a book, then a wedding is just one page of many more pages and chapters that are to come in one's life....

One's death is the coda or last page of that book - there will be no more life pages forthcoming. That is why it is so important to record the funeral. That is why it is also a time of high emotions, and why pictures can have such a profound effect on loved ones. The pictures therefore serve a much more important function than to just preserve a memory.

How do I know? Well, they say one picture is worth 10,000 words, so just have a look at this picture I am sending you. It was taken when we were at the temple this morning performing the last rites, and I was showing the monk and the family your slide show. Look at the faces and see what impact your photos are having on the people behind the faces. And to think that most of the people in the picture have already seen the slide show the day before! There is no doubt in my mind that you performed a function way more important than just being a photographer that day. Thanks again, Michael.

Regards,
Dr. Barry Fung

Hotel Valencia and Maggiano's Little Italy Wedding MTV Slideshow

2009-03-31T17:07:00.000-07:00

Almost three days have passed since their two-days wedding at Hotel Valencia and Maggiano's Little Italy in Santana Row of San Jose.

Roya and Todd have not left my mind. They are now honeymooning in Waikiki, possibly splashing in Hanauma Bay. All our photographers have already sorted through 2290 images to come up with a slideshow for them when they return!

- Michael Soo

Baring My Soul…My Unique Selling Points

2009-03-28T10:58:00.000-07:00

Like many of you, I am closely watching the testimony of Geithner and Bernanke on Capitol Hill and cannot help but be affected. Of the brides and grooms I recently photographed, one member of the couple has been either laid off or had a salary reduction. We are all touched by the times.

Which pulls me into contemplating my own place in the system. We still smile. We still laugh. Life goes on. But everyone needs to look before they leap with their expenses. And that brings me to the Unique Selling Points (USPs) that I have incorporated into my wedding photography efforts and my commitment to the families whom I serve.

To this end, I refuse to schedule more than two or three weddings in a single month. There are many reasons, which I’ll elaborate as I go along, but the most significant reason is, so I can ensure I have the time to fulfill my commitments to the best of my ability and satisfy the happy couples’ expectations.

My USP #1

I’m not just a vendor! As I see and experience my work, the position I hold in a wedding is as a member of the wedding party. The slide shows and wedding albums I create are legacies for families to pass along to their progeny and extended families. This is a responsibility I take seriously, and it takes a lot of time. The brides and grooms I work with meet with me in my own home; for a time, they become part of my personal life. This is one of several reasons I cannot schedule more than three weddings in a single month. Working as teams, the brides-and grooms-to-be strategize with me the mementos we will create together. This is another reason I limit my monthly commitments. I remember these conversations. During the weddings, I remember my interactions with Grandmother, Cousin, Uncle—and I try hard to use images representative of what I learned from these individuals at the time I’m snapping shots. I am integral to the wedding events I photograph, and my goal is to assemble a permanent glimpse into the emotions and joy of very, very happy days in the histories of the wedding families and their friends.

Sometimes I have to pinch myself, because I really love my job.

Assyrious Snag at an Assyrian Wedding

2009-03-11T11:31:00.000-07:00

Each wedding is marvelous, with its own behind-the-scenes stories to tell. As major lifecycle events within individual cultures, the traditions and styles of every wedding vary, too. It’s the excitement, smiles, and tears of happiness that are universal.

This wedding includes a story that was a real nail biter. Their wedding day gave me my first glimpses into the vibrancy and customs of the Assyrian community. And this community is large. The church and reception hall for this event are in the Central Valley. This meant a caravan of limousines and cars making the trek over the mountains out of Silicon Valley. Their guests numbered over 700! Awesome!

Now, on to the tale that will become family legend for the Assyrian couple. With the long distance to the church, there was no chance to run home and back for anything forgotten. And the paperwork for the priest got left behind.

This is where the charm, talent…and persistence of the groom snatched victory from the jaws of wedding ceremony defeat. Against the odds and while the guests and bride waited outside, he persuaded Father Auchana Kanoun of Saint Zaia Church, Assyrian Church of the East in Modesto. (The couple returned the next day and fixed the paperwork problem. Whew!)

After the successful wedding ceremony, the 700 plus guests and I traveled on to Turlock to and enormous reception hall, The Babylonian Room, at the Assyrian American Civic Club [link to: http://www.aaccot.org/index.php][photo of the outside of the facility]. As you'll see from the photographs, this was a very happy ending!

So, there is no chance this couple won’t succeed after a start like this, not to mention—as you can see—their start also includes a GREAT collection of pictures.

- Michael Soo

Queensberry Wedding Albums and Luminae LED Crystal Panels

2009-02-24T01:22:00.001-08:00

(click to enlarge)

We have recently added two absolutely amazing product lines to our studio that I am personally very happy with. If you know me, I'm extremely selective when it comes to the products we provide. Our employees have been known to roll their eyes when I rejected a beautifully crafted album just because it doesn't have rounded corners (I refuse to believe that people will want to order sharp metal cornered albums, place them next to children, or adults). Maybe it is because I live in the same town where Steve Jobs work. ;-)

(click to enlarge)

A great deal of kudos go to Queensberry, our supplier in New Zealand. They are the best handcrafted album maker in the world. All the albums are hand-cut, hand-matted and assembled with acid free mats. The attention to detail and classic approach ensures the albums retain their appeal and integrity, as you pass them down from generations to generations. The albums are guaranteed to be free from defects in material or workmanship.

(click to enlarge)

The beauty of Queensberry albums is the unlimited capacity for customizations. Poetic balance between beauty, craftsmanship and functionality can be achieved to create either a classic or contemporary look to the albums.

Talk about beauty, the other product line that we are introducing is called the Luminae Crystal Panels (image above). Its a phenomenal compliment to our classic Museum Quality Canvas Wrap. Luminae Crystal Panels are the brightest, longest-lasting and most energy-efficient LED-light panels in the world! The lighting is made to be evenly light a photography with no color cast. It is about half an inch in thickness with aluminium studs to hang on the walls, creating a modern look that is captivating. We are installing at least 6-10 of these products along our studio corridor with high-fashion images that we captured.

I could go on and on about these one-of-a-kind products that only we can offer but I would rather you come and see them all up close and personal in our studio. Get an appointment to swing by...NOW! ;)

- Michael Soo

San Francisco Bridal Couture Fashion Shoot

2009-02-10T23:28:00.000-08:00

A beautiful day, 72 degrees Farenheit in San Francisco and we spent the whole day in Sintak photography studio. All is not lost! We have a team of fun and talented individuals to party with indoors! We're shooting bridal gowns today!

Dresses are designed and tailored by none other than Jinza Bridal Couture. There are many bridal shops out there but if you are looking for custom-tailored dresses, using exceptional materials, look no further. Jinza uses only top quality fabrics, pure French silk, organza, crepe, chiffon for a smooth flowing look. Jinza is both down-to-earth and pleasant. Story has it that Kelly (the model and bride-to-be below, YES! She's a real bride to be married in a few months!) tried over 65+ wedding gowns at Jinza's with no pressure from Jinza. Now THAT is what I call "excellent customer service"!

Why let me tell you about it rather than checking out the shots...

(Click on images below to see them LARGE)

As with all weddings, I will only recommend the best makeup artists and hair stylists. Take a closer look (click on the image on the right) at the flawless makeup by Beauty Expert Tiffany and extraordinary hair styling by Mikel Sessions. You'll now have a few phenomenal vendors at your disposal.

Many thanks to Margarita and Kelly for being such amazing models.

- Michael Soo

Gentry Magazine Feature - Feb 2009 Annual Wedding Issue

2009-02-01T18:01:00.000-08:00

Photographing bathing suit calendars with scantily clad models is exciting, the haute cuisine food photography has ruined take-out food for me for life, and my happiness for the ecstatic brides and grooms and their families I photograph already warms my heart on lonely winter nights into the next century. I do love my work, but when a photographer REALLY wants to have fun…

Gentry Magazine has recently exposed my vice--Trash the Dress--in their February 2009 Annual Wedding Issue. (full issue here)

I know it takes courage for women to sacrifice their treasured, expensive gowns, and my best efforts go into transforming the memories of these perfect wedding dresses into dramatic, whimsical, permanent art, elevating the dresses to importance equal to the lovely brides inside them. There is extreme contrast in style for featuring these wedding dresses between the precisely programmed events of the wedding day and the let-it-all-go, wild-and-crazy freedom of these photo sessions. And the gowns shine in both settings.

The brides tap into their imaginations as they collaborate with me, hatching the plan for these photo shoots. And if you look at my series of pictures, you'll see the mischievous thrill on the faces of these lovely women. If you could see a behind-the-scenes collection of pictures of me, you would see that I am having spectacular fun, too.

You are invited to share my Trash-the-Dress images to enjoy the happy faces in these out-of-the-box wedding mementos, and remember, on the other side of the lens, my smiles were even broader. Thank you, ladies, for making my day!

- Michael Soo

Cover Girl for Popular Photography Magazine!

2009-01-22T21:11:00.000-08:00

Never-ending deadlines, continual search for new content to publish, reviewing new equipment for readers, replying to emails and mail from million of readers. These are but few of the challenges that face the editors in a publishing house. This becomes an upward battle, especially when it's a large publisher, like Popular Photography & Imaging, the largest photography magazine in the world. They have to constantly feel the pulse of the readers, facing the impossible task of pleasing everyone.

PopPhoto has always been kind to me. This is the organization that gave my photography business a good boost a mere 3 years or so ago. Receiving one of the most prestigious and coveted international recognitions, the Photographer of the Year award from PopPhoto did a lot to extend my credibility and promote my business.

Recently, after months of hiatus from not hearing from PopPhoto, I'm just so glad that I will be doing a short 8 pages of photo work for them. On top of that, one of my images of Tiffany is the February Cover!!!

I personally know a number of photographers who get jaded along the way after being on numerous magazine covers, spreads and what not. I have been published dozens of times in various magazines, newspapers like The New York Times, San Francisco Chronicle, etc. However, being in a magazine will always be refreshing to me. I feel very blessed to be able to work as an artist.

John O, Jason B, Pete K, Debbie G, Julia S, Linzee K, and everyone in PopPhoto, I want you to know that each and every one of you made an impact on my life, and I want to thank you for it.

Below is the 4 spreads (8 pages) of the story.

We Made Legal Heads Roll

2009-01-13T00:06:00.000-08:00

Well, heads as in headshots.

Recently, we had the great opportunity to meet all of the lawyers with a very large law firm, Meyers, Nave, Riback, Silver & Wilson (more affectionately referred to as Meyers Nave). The expertise of this organization was an education for me-public law. They represent airports, cities, schools, public power companies, and on it goes. As part of developing their website and printed materials, Meyers Nave wanted to have headshots of all their attorneys...and this is OUR area of expertise.

This project translated into: Have camera, light meters, reflective screens, softboxes, posing knowledge, multiple lights, power packs and backdrops-will travel. And I REALLY traveled. This firm has offices in many locations around the State of California, Los Angeles, Sacramento, Oakland, Santa Rosa, San Francisco, all of which we visited!

For the photographs we made, regardless of locations, the key requirement is to keep the look and feel consistent. Consistency is absolute in importance, in the area of branding and marketing. This meant reproducing the same backdrop and the style of head placements over a period of many months.

I’ll share a trick when photographing faces to make the subjects appear younger (less wrinkles), and avoid the reflections of light on the retinas of their eyes. If you can, take the pictures near a large light source, such as a large window that has sunlight shining indirectly in or perhaps on a cloudy day. A simple way to avoid the retinal reflections is to avoid using a small light light source (i.e. direct camera flash).

Our thanks to Meyers Nave for selecting us as their photographer. And I’ll share a little-known secret I learned through this project about lawyers...they do smile!!

— Michael Soo

Rose's Farewell Party at the Abyss, Sunnyvale

2008-12-08T14:42:00.000-08:00

Saama Technologies Holiday Party 2008 at Pedro's

2008-12-08T09:45:00.000-08:00

The Best-Laid Plans of Fish and Men...

2008-11-11T01:40:00.000-08:00

As a general rule, the wedding slide shows I produce include a few earlier engagement pictures with the bride and groom dressed in their street clothes. You’ll notice in this piece, however, that the engagement sequence actually tells a story. And this is where I get to have fun sharing the experience of a best-laid-plan proposal that nearly got "flushed down the toilet." Too many metaphors? Here’s the story.

Ronald had a choice to make: a motorcycle or an engagement ring. Of course, he chose the ring. He purchased it, hid it in a drawer, and began drawing up his plans for the perfect proposal. The theme was going to be "Of all the fishes in the sea, I choose you." He would fill the room with fish, retrieve his ring from hiding, invite Stella over, drop to his knee in front of all his finned decorations, and ask her the BIG question.

Well, Stella pushed up the timetable by accidentally discovering the ring. Not easily deterred, Ronald was determined to stick to his plan. He sent Stella away, and in about an hour, he bought up the fish, tossed them into bowls, scattered them around the room, and Ronald - as we now know - was a success.

Poor timing seemed to follow Ronald’s planning. To those of us trying to get to the ceremony, it felt as if the entire Bay Area was there, too. And they were. The streets were crowded with revelers going to the Academy of Sciences' grand reopening at the same time! Luckily for Ronald, other than that, his plans went smoothly. The wedding, at Zion Lutheran Church on Anza and 9th Avenue in San Francisco, was beautiful. A photography technique I used for this couple with their large family was, rather than backing down the aisle and out the door with my camera trying to fit everyone into the frame, I went upwards instead, using the choir loft—which, as you see, worked out very well.

The reception was at a wonderful Chinese restaurant, Zen Peninsula on El Camino Real in Millbrae. A fantastic part of Stella and Ronald’s reception was a traditional Chinese Lion Dance. The fantastic motion and colors provided an opportunity for me to use a unique camera technique to capture this. I set the flash to high, focused on the nearby subject, then literally tossed the camera while it took the picture. This is NOT a trick to try at home!! However, when done correctly, the foreground is in focus and the background has a blurred quality. Here’s the picture for you to enjoy.

View Stella & Ronald's Wedding Album
Zion Lutheran Church, San Francisco
September 27, 2008

My best wishes that all of Stella and Ronald’s future plans always turn out perfectly!

—Michael Soo

P.S.: Now that Ronald has his fish of choice, I wonder what he did with all those OTHER fish?

When I say jump...

2008-11-02T01:43:00.000-07:00

View Lacee & Tejas' Wedding Album

Cypress Hotel, Cupertino
September 20, 2008

India met Czechoslovakia in Cupertino, California, recently at the wedding of Lacee and Tejas. This overachieving couple planned not one, but TWO weddings for the same day at the lovely Cypress Hotel.

The morning began joyfully with drumming; bright colors; intricate details, from the mehndi-henna hand painting, to the intricate jewelry, and stunning fabrics; and motion.

The afternoon was happy, as well. Typical Western customs were observed. A string quartet, the bride and groom with their attendants, the ceremony, the banquet, the dancing. A custom of swapping out a “matron’s bonnet” for the bridal veil had Lacee traditionally Czech for her dances with the male guests.

Which brings me closer and closer to the BIG JUMP.

This entire day was particularly marked with visual movement: the two events themselves; the quickly swapped patio, converting it from Eastern to Western style; the fabrics; the hand painting; even the wedding cake itself was decorated with details that “moved.”

So, as you can see from Lacee and Tejas’ wedding album, I used static shots in fluid ways to bring some of that energy into the experience of watching these pictures. Easy tricks are using a series of quick photos in sequence; close-up of the beautiful fabric used on the ceremonial wedding arch, with its pattern that ebbs and flows; capturing the bride’s gown swirling around her legs as she dances. These are all static tricks to show motion.

Another technique to insert motion into a shot is to MAKE your models move. And this is where my inner sadist has its fun. You KNOW that the wedding party is devoted to a bride and groom, when—dressed in tuxedos or fancy dresses with tall high heels—these folks will JUMP. Not once, not twice, but many, MANY times until every single toe floats off the ground at the same time. That is a powerful moment for the photographer.

As you can imagine, a double event like this, with so many transitions within the single hotel, cannot succeed without someone overseeing the day. Both Lea McIntosh and her team, Creative Events By Ashley were the behind-the-scenes wedding coordinators for Lacee and Tejas. Lea is one of my favorite professionals to work with because her skills ensure a smooth event. You can check out this talented woman at her websites.

I admire Lacee and Tejas for their profound commitment to each other and their families and for pulling off a Herculean challenge of two weddings on the same day in the same place. It was a joy and a challenge for me, too, to be focused on the job for such a long time. So, if the couple can get through this, who doubts they’ll succeed together?

Michael Soo

Wedding Cake Photography

2008-09-15T02:21:00.000-07:00

It was shot two weeks ago for a bakery in Burlingame that sells wedding cakes. I figure I'll proudly post this image that represents warmth, texture, sweetness and class. It's definitely a beautiful cake.

A Victory at Trader Vic's

2008-09-14T01:21:00.000-07:00

Trader Vic's is a wonderful Polynesian-themed restaurant that has locations worldwide. The founder of the chain, Victor Bergeron Jr, is reputed to have invented the notorious Mai Tai around the time of World War II (yes, this restaurant chain has been around a LONG time).

As you'll see from this collection of photographs, what the restaurant needed from me, a food photographer, was pictorial representation of a number of its menu items for use at international locations to standardize the look of their food. And with restaurants in locations ranging from Palo Alto to Los Angeles to Atlanta to Abu Dhabi to Beirut to Berlin to Tokyo…and the list goes on, you can see how the customary local cuisine presentations might vary and would benefit from these photos!

(Click on an image, then use your RIGHT and LEFT arrow keys to go through all of them)

As we all know, kids and animals are the traditional bugaboos for photographers. At Trader Vic's in Palo Alto, I discovered a third problem model: the lowly sterno. As I mentally prepared my blog before this shoot, the titles "Mai Tai, Oh, My" or "Oh, My, Mai Tai" were rolling around in my head. However, this next picture—which took nearly FOUR HOURS to shoot—changed all that.

This photograph contains many elements that are typically a challenge to get right. Reflective containers dare not reflect the camera gear, for one. The beverage ice cubes in the Mai Tai at the front had to be frozen and the mint had to look refreshing to the eye. Minutiae required attention…burning faux grill marks on the skewers, for example. Food stylist, Randy Mon and I had our hands and eyes full indeed.

But I'll cut to the chase. The dancing flame over the little silver kettle took the most time of all, and it became a head game between us and the can of sterno. Everything would be set: lighting, ice cubes, Blue Hawaiian, skewers…and the sterno would die down. Reset. Sterno wouldn't flame well. Reset.

I think you get the idea. It was either the sterno, or us. And a picture tells a thousand words. Michael+team: 1; Sterno: 0!!

— Michael Soo

A Model Portfolio from & for the City of Angels

2008-09-13T00:55:00.000-07:00

It's always humbling when I'm chosen as the photographer for people whose professional careers depend on my pictures. So Cal model Elizabeth is a special case.

For years she has used photographs from her modeling gigs as her portfolio. But recently she decided to create a collection of pictures specifically for her. After canvassing websites of many, many photographers, Elizabeth found me; and she chose to drive eight hours all the way from Los Angeles to come here to Cupertino...TWICE!

We worked both days and had some fun setting up different categories of shots to create a complete portfolio: headshot, commercial, athletic, and business-style photos.

The collaboration brought us from the studio, to San Francisco downtown, to the garden in my backyard, to a local park. We really covered her comp card in more ways than one. Tiffany Chiang did the makeup wonderfully.

Being a model is about versatility and acting. By creating photographic situation for the model to act out her role will dramatically increase her chances of being cast into a role.

My best wishes follow Elizabeth back to Los Angeles, and I hope my photos will bring her great luck with her modeling career.

- Michael Soo

Wedding in Santa Clara University Mission, Hotel Valencia and Maggiano's in Santana Row

2008-08-31T09:30:00.000-07:00

View Kirsten & Marcos' Wedding Album

Mission Church Santa Clara de Asis

Maggiano's Little Italy, Santana Row

Hotel Valencia, Santana Row
August 16, 2008

Before I tuned my life into wedding photography, commercial photography, food photography, and fashion photography, I was a computer geek…

There could be double entendre in this title, having grown up in an area that was a colony of the United Kingdom (Malaysia), but the job I’m going to feature in this blog has a twist that takes me back to the time when I was a computer guy with Sun Microsystems.

Kirsten (the bride) and Barbara (bride’s mom), a Sun Microsystems employee—whose husband, like me, successfully switched careers to become a lawyer—discovered me after I left the company. Kirsten found me via Maggiano’s Little Italy’s amazing Banquet Sales Manager (Thanks, Vicky!). I have photographed Maggiano’s entire staff outside the restaurant, a hefty few hundred employees; and one of my most memorable weddings in Maggiano’s was with Demara and Reynold.

In my new career as a photographer (with no dreams of going back to computers), I had the chance to get to know Barbara and her family. Happily, Kirsten met, and is now married to, Marcos. I worked on both the engagement and wedding photographs, giving me lots of time with the couple. I have the positive impression that Marcos has sparked a new sense of adventure in Kirsten. I think they’ll be very, very happy.

And in the sense of adventure, we tried for adventurous locations for the engagement shots. For San Francisco cognoscenti, see if you can recognize some of these locations in this clip! A couple of hints: Pulgas Water Temple in Woodside; and the Sutro Baths and Stockton Street Tunnel in San Francisco.

Fortunately for us, the famed “pulgas” (fleas), after which the Water Temple was named, didn’t try to get into the pictures. No itching on the way home!

At the old Sutro Baths ruins, we found a cave that presented a wonderful backdrop. One of these pictures was blown up, made into a framed photograph, and all the guests at the wedding later on got to sign it, making an interesting alternative to the traditional wedding guest book.

Of course, engagement photos can only mean a wedding coming up. Kirsten and Marcos’ day was a treasure trove of photo opportunities. Someone in the family must have a connection to Santa Clara University, because they were able to book their wedding at the historic Mission Santa Clara de Asis. I understand use of this church, the eighth oldest of the original 21 California missions, is restricted, and it can take more than a year to secure a date!

From the photographer’s view, the Mission was wonderful. The inside is fantastically colorful. Outside, with its old, adobe wall, gated walkways, and ancient garden plantings, we got some great pictures.

After the ceremony, it was off to Santana Row in San José for the partying. Carrying on the adventurous theme, Kirsten and Marcos have a shared/learned passion for travel. Their reception tables, rather than being numbered, were named for locations they visited together already or plan to visit in the future. You can see from these photographs that there were two different venues: Hotel Valencia Santana Row, and Maggiano’s Little Italy, directly across the street from the hotel. The food was great, the reception was great, and—if I do say so myself—we got some great pictures, too. I hope all their future journeys are successful and happy!

–Michael Soo